Characterization
One-sided, stereotypical character.
What is a flat character?
A figure of speech using “like” or “as” to make a comparison between two unrelated things.
What is a simile?
The opposite of hyperbole; a statement that minimizes the importance of something.
What is understatement?
Ordinary or familiar type of conversation.
What is colloquial?
A writing technique that provides hints/clues to readers about events that might happen later in the story.
What is foreshadowing?
A fully developed character with many traits, with both faults and virtues.
What is a round character?
A figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unrelated things by stating that one thing is another thing, even though this isn't literally true. Does not use "like” or “as” for comparison.
What is a metaphor?
Describing non-human things with human attributes.
What is personification?
Implied meaning rather than literal meaning.
When two or more ideas, places, characters, and/or their actions are placed side by side to develop and heighten comparisons and contrasts.
What is juxtaposition?
A character that does not exhibit much change through the course of a story.
What is a static character?
pairing seemingly contradictory words in order to express new or complex meanings; ex: “icy hot”
What is an oxymoron?
Replacing an actual word or idea, with a related word or concept.
For example: “I could not understand his tongue,” means his language or his speech.
What is metonymy?
The literal, explicit meaning of a word, without its connotations.
What is denotation?
In a work of literature, an outcome of events contrary to what was, or might have been expected.
What is irony?
A character that experiences significant change through the course of a story. This may be in personality, belief, and/or perspective.
What is a dynamic character?
An extended oxymoron: “My only love sprung from my only hate” (Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet)
What is a paradox?
A kind of metonymy when a whole is represented by naming one of its parts, or vice versa.
For example: “Check out my new wheels.”
What is synecdoche?
The diction used by a group which practices a similar profession or activity.
What is jargon?
The message about human nature and life that the author wants to convey to her readers.
What is the theme?
Conflict that happens within a character, such as deciding whether to deceive a friend or not; may focus on ideas, emotions or desires.
What is internal conflict?
An intentional and extreme exaggeration.
What is a hyperbole?
A description involving a “crossing of the senses.”
What is synesthesia?
Language or dialect of a particular country.
What is vernacular?
Sentence construction which places equal grammatical constructions near each other or repeats identical grammatical patterns.
What is parallelism?